Tackling Complicated Issues: Insights from the National APA Conference
Contacts: Maria Wardoku, Alta Climate Group Co-Lead; David Wasserman, Civic Analytics Discipline Leader; Lisa Bender, Policy and Agency Coordination Expert
The American Planning Association (APA) 2024 National Planning Conference in Minneapolis, MN, demonstrated an urgency within planning to address issues such as the housing crisis, climate change, safe mobility, data in practice, and AI. We were inspired by the number of professionals pushing to break down massive issues into tractable problems and working on solutions. Here are four key takeaways that impressed us:
Climate Change
A number of sessions focused on climate change, and climate change pervaded other sessions even when it wasn’t explicitly the topic. Climate change adaptation has moved into the mainstream of planning work, a significant difference from only a few years ago.
Exploratory Scenario Planning (or Planning with Foresight)
Plans usually tell us more about the time in which they were created than about what to expect in the future. Transportation plans, in particular, tend to conceptualize the future as the present, but with more traffic. It doesn’t have to be this way, however! We attended multiple sessions on exploratory scenario planning and using APA’s trends report to plan for multiple possible futures. The idea behind exploratory scenario planning is to identify and explore the driving forces of change to understand and prepare for future uncertainties. This approach to planning could help communities develop stronger and more flexible plans that are oriented around likely futures, rather than just projecting the present onto the future. We are excited to continue to find opportunities to apply exploratory scenario planning in our work.
Inspiring Multidisciplinary Planning and Navigating Politics
Conference sessions emphasized and acknowledged the connections between different areas of planning (and related fields, like public health). These partnerships can be challenging because of how traditional agencies and funding sources are set up, but it is exciting to see planners intentionally building partnerships between disciplines in communities. In Lisa Bender’s session on navigating politics in planning, the audience was asked, “Have you ever felt like you were taking a personal or professional risk when working on a project?” Of the responses, 102 said yes and 19 said no. Audience members said that navigating politics is “challenging, risky, frustrating, stressful, and scary.” Planners are tackling big issues in inspiring ways, and it can also be challenging. Our collective work to broaden community engagement, stay grounded in data, and set up processes for transparent decision-making is really important in this context.
Data in Practice and Generative and Geospatial AI
The development of metrics and applications of generative AI was another big topic with multiple sessions focused on ethical applications of this technology. Alta presented both with Ecopia AI and NOAA on how geospatial AI and digital twins can advance climate action. Our team’s innovative work in this area has included understanding the cooling and ecosystem benefits of tree canopy expansion and impacts of rising sea levels for coastal communities. To learn more about the data behind digital twins, you can check out the APA’s Technology Division article in Planning Magazine: Smart Tech to Help Build Your City’s Digital Twin.
Alta recently used this data to conduct a bridge disruption analysis, testing driver routes after a potential closure, to estimate economic losses. The analysis enhanced the project’s resilience assessment helping to secure a PROTECT grant for Ducks Unlimited. The grant will restore the riparian area at Big River Park to manage floodwater and reduce the risk of potential bridge closure, which is becoming more likely due to sea level rise.
We’re looking forward to diving deeper into these topics during the Online Program of the National Planning Conference in early May (available to all APA members and in-person conference attendees). Don’t miss Maria Wardoku’s session on May 9 highlighting Alta’s collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to reduce vehicle miles traveled: Driving Less, Accessing More.
